The aim of the course is to explore the relationship between the British and the ethnic groups with whom they come into contact following the establishment of the British Empire. To do that, we will analyze a series of literary texts which show, on the one hand, the British view of the colonial 'Other', and then, on the other hand, from the Nineteen Fifties to the present day, the voices and points of view of diasporic subjects from the Caribbean, Asian and African ex-colonies. The main objective is to stimulate thinking on ethnic and cultural difference and on the ideological discourses which constantly underpin and affect our relation with it.

PART I 
W. Shakespeare, The Tempest (1611): the archetypical encounter
C. Bronte, Jane Eyre (1846): the madwoman in the attic
J. Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1899): the scramble for Africa
E. M. Forster, A Passage to India (1924): East is East...

PART II 
S. Selvon, The Lonely Londoners (1956) e Moses Ascending (1975): West Indian boys
T. Mo, Sour Sweet (1982): diasporic Chinese
H. Kureishi, The Black Album (1995) and "My son the Fanatic" (1997): radical muslims
L. Aboulela, The Translator (1999): love and Islam.
B. Evaristo, Blonde Roots (2008): alternate history.

Knowledge and understanding: students will get to know the cultural, historical and social foundations of literatureand the basic critical tools to deal with Modern English Literature. 
Applying knowledge and understanding: students are expected to acquire the linguistic and literary competence needed to analyze English Literature.
Making judgements: students are expected to possess the critical abilities which allow them to analize and value literary and cultural texts and to be able to express opinions on sociocultural topics concerning various hisorical periods.
Communication skills: students  are  expected to acquire an open  needed to widen further their sphere pf knowledge and achtowards different realities and epochs, and to know how to use sectorial language.
Learning skills: students are expected to acquire methodological tools and critical-bibliographical competence to widen further their sphere of knowledge and achieve the level of competence needed to continue their studies with Laurea Magistrale.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Audiovisual material.

Teaching

Lectures

Attendance

To be considered 'attending', students are expected to have a class attendance of at least 70%. 

Course books

PART I - Three books of your choice among the following:
W. Shakespeare, The Tempest 
C. Brontë, Jane Eyre
J. Conrad, Heart of Darkness
E. M. Forster, A Passage to India. 
 
PART II - Three books of your choice among the following:
S. Selvon, The Lonely Londoners 
S. Selvon, Moses Ascending
T. Mo, Sour Sweet 
H. Kureishi, The Black Album e "My Son the Fanatic"
L. Aboulela, The Translator
B. Evaristo, Blonde Roots.

S. Guerra, Figli della diaspora. Romanzo e multiculturalità nella Gran Bretagna contemporanea (1950-2014), Fano, Aras Edizioni, 2014. Students are to study the foolowing chapters: Part I: chapters 1, 2, 3;  of chapter 4  all the sections dealing with the authors studied. Part II: chapters 2 e 5. Conclusion.

All texts, except Moses Ascending, The Translator and Blonde Roots, are available in one of the following libraries of the University of Urbino: Centrale/Lingue/Pesaro Studi.

All texts of part I are available online.
All texts except Sour Sweet can be bought as e-books (mine included).
Among the various paper editions I recommend the following, many of which are available as e-books:
W. Shakespeare, La tempesta, Garzanti, a cura di A. Lombardo, 2002 (bilingual edition, but not the e-book), or The Tempest, Bloomsbury (in the Arden Shakespeare series), edited by  V. Mason Vaughan e A. T. Vaughan, 2014.

C. Brontë, Jane Eyre, Penguin Classics, 2006 (the Deluxe Edition (2012) is ok as well), o Norton, 2002 (annotata e ricchissima di materiale critico).

J. Conrad, Heart of Darkness, Penguin Classics, 2007 (the Deluxe Edition (2012) is ok as well); if available, the Bur edition, a cura di Spina, or the Einaudi edition, a cura di Sertoli, are ok as well.
E. M. Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin Classics, new ed., 2005
S. Selvon, The Lonely Londoners, Penguin, edited by S. Nasta;  Moses Ascending, Penguin, edited by Hari Kunzru.
T. Mo, Sour Sweet, any.
H. Kureishi, The Black Album with My Son the Fanatic: a Novel and a Short Story, Scribner.
L. Aboulela, The Translator, any;
B. Evaristo, Blonde Roots, any.

Assessment

Oral examination

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Lectures.

Attendance

To be considered 'attending', students are expected to have a class attendance of at least 70%. 

Course books

PART I - Three books of your choice among the following:
W. Shakespeare, The Tempest 
C. Brontë, Jane Eyre
J. Conrad, Heart of Darkness
E. M. Forster, A Passage to India. 
 
PART II - Three books of your choice among the following:
S. Selvon, The Lonely Londoners 
S. Selvon, Moses Ascending
T. Mo, Sour Sweet 
H. Kureishi, The Black Album e "My Son the Fanatic"
L. Aboulela, The Translator
B. Evaristo, Blonde Roots.

S. Guerra, Figli della diaspora. Romanzo e multiculturalità nella Gran Bretagna contemporanea (1950-2014), Fano, Aras Edizioni, 2014. Students are to study the foolowing chapters: Part I: chapters 1, 2, 3;  of chapter 4  all the sections dealing with the authors studied. Part II: chapters 2 e 5. Conclusion.

All texts, except Moses Ascending, The Translator and Blonde Roots, are available in one of the following libraries of the University of Urbino: Centrale/Lingue/Pesaro Studi.

All texts of part I are available online.
All texts except Sour Sweet can be bought as e-books (mine included).
Among the various paper editions I recommend the following, many of which are available as e-books:
W. Shakespeare, La tempesta, Garzanti, a cura di A. Lombardo, 2002 (bilingual edition, but not the e-book), or The Tempest, Bloomsbury (in the Arden Shakespeare series), edited by  V. Mason Vaughan e A. T. Vaughan, 2014.

C. Brontë, Jane Eyre, Penguin Classics, 2006 (the Deluxe Edition (2012) is ok as well), o Norton, 2002 (annotata e ricchissima di materiale critico).

J. Conrad, Heart of Darkness, Penguin Classics, 2007 (the Deluxe Edition (2012) is ok as well); if available, the Bur edition, a cura di Spina, or the Einaudi edition, a cura di Sertoli, are ok as well.
E. M. Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin Classics, new ed., 2005
S. Selvon, The Lonely Londoners, Penguin, edited by S. Nasta;  Moses Ascending, Penguin, edited by Hari Kunzru.
T. Mo, Sour Sweet, any.
H. Kureishi, The Black Album with My Son the Fanatic: a Novel and a Short Story, Scribner.
L. Aboulela, The Translator, any;
B. Evaristo, Blonde Roots, any.

Non attending students must complement the reading of the above books with additional material on the author and that particular work (for example the introductions to the paper editions mentiond above). To this purpose useful reference texts are the following: P. Bertinetti, English Literature. A Short History, Torino, Einaudi, 2010 (available in the library at Istituto di Lingue in Urbino), and R. Carter e J. McRae, The Routledge History of Literature in English: Britain and Ireland, Routledge, 2001 (available in the library at  Pesaro Studi). as far as the second part is concerned, critical material on the various authors is to be found in my book, in part I chapter 4, and in part II chapters 2 and 5.

Assessment

Oral examination.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

The course will be taught in Italian and English.